Fruit-jar clamp



(No Model.)

W. W. LY'MAN. FRUIT JAR CLAMP.

No. 403,055. Patented May 7, 1889.

mumm' w tnsses. Inventor w I I wzzmm WJJymw W /4Mm/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM \V. LYMAN, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

FRU lT-JAR CLAM P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,055, dated May 7, 1889.

Application filed March 30, 1889. Serial No. 305,341. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. LYMAN, of Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements inFruit-Jar Clamps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,'and exact description of said invention, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in screw-clamp fastenings for fruit-jars in which a yoke is employed, the hooked ends of which take under an annular flange or under lugs projecting from the sides of a jar near its top, and in which a screw is employed passing through the center of the yoke and pressing downward upon the cover. This form of fastenin g, in connection with a glass jar and cover, is commonly employed, and is generally admitted to be a most satisfactory device, with the exception that the end of the screw frequently causes breakage of the glass cover, owing to roughness of the end of said screw fracturing the glass-as the screw is turned downward to clamp the cover in place.

It is the object of my invention to produce a simple and economical device whereby this objection will be overcome; and to this end" my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my device and a portion of a fruit-jar. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the clamp, a portion of the screw being broken away to show the plug.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in both views.

A indicates the yoke of the clamp, having inwardly-turned ends a to take under the flange or the lugs of the jar. At a the yoke has a screw-threaded hole to receive the screw B, the lower end of which has a recess, 1), to

receive a solid plug, C, of some slightly-elastic material, preferably wood. The said plug is driven tightly into the recess 1), so as to be permanently secured therein, and projects sufficiently therefrom to prevent the metallic portion of the screw from being forced into contact with the glass cover.

It will be understood that by this construction the screw can be entirely withdrawn from the yoke, if desired, for the purpose of replacing a worn plug with a new one, and there are no small and separable parts to become lost whenever the jar is opened, as is the case Where an elastic washer is placed on the top of the glass cover, or where a coiled spring is used between the screw and the cover.

My device is simple and inexpensive, and effectually prevents the fracture of the glassjar cover.

I am aware that a jar screw-clamp in which a screw passes through a yoke, as usual, and in which the lower end of the screw is provided with an enlarged socket-piece attached to it, but separate therefrom, said socket-piece containing a rubber spring, is not new; but my device possesses the advantages over this of simplicity of construction and the removability of the screw with its elastic plug through the hole in the yoke.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A fruit-j ar clamp having a yoke and a screw passing through said yoke, the end of the screw being recessed and provided with a plug of elastic material, said plug being partly contained within the body of the screw and partly projected beyond the end of said screw, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

E. A. MERRIMAN, WILLIS O. FENN. 

